Staff at Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) are facing an uncertain future after a bungled consultation exercise over their jobs.

The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust carried out the consultation in October when it decided to merge the admissions department with the medical records department.

Staff in admissions were interviewed in groups and individually and were given the option of volunteering to move to medical records.

But some say they were not told that if they did not take up the option that they may get moved anyway.

After the interviews, 18 members of staff were moved to the medical records department, which is housed in a basement office of the RBH and have been told they could face different working hours.

They will start their new jobs today, but are yet to have their working hours confirmed.

One woman who spoke to the Evening Post said: “We were all under the impression that everyone would be slotted into another job.

Then it comes back and it turns out that 18 people have been moved to another department altogether, it was totally out of the blue.

“We really were led up the garden path.”

Members of staff complained about the way the consultation was handled and on Monday, December 18, bosses apologised to the 140 people affected and offered to complete the consultation again.

One staff member said: “The HR department admitted they had messed up and said they were sorry and if we wanted to be put back in the pot and start again from scratch we could, but it would take until February to sort out and we decided we just could not face that uncertainty again.

“It was awkward because obviously the people who had been given what they wanted did not want to start again.

“It is like we have chosen the better of two evils.”

Sarah Crake, spokesperson for the RBH, admitted there had been a misunderstanding and said members of staff had received an apology and an option to go through the process again, but had declined this offer.

She said: “It was an internal problem that has been dealt with.

“It seems to me that some members of staff were probably just feeling a bit disgruntled but it was made clear at the time of the consultation that if you say no to the changes you are effectively putting yourself out of a job.”